The Association of Short Term Lenders (ASTL) is to hold its annual conference on 14 September 2017, at Painter’s Hall, London.
Lorna O’Brien of the FCA and Peter Andrews from the Bank of England have been confirmed as speakers.
The subject of this year’s conference is ‘Brexit and Bridging’ and will focus on how the bridging loans industry and the property market is likely to respond to the opportunities and challenges created by the UK’s decision to leave the EU. The conference brings together people across bridging, finance and politics to debate the latest industry trends and put forward ideas and predictions.
The first announced speaker is Lorna O’Brien, technical specialist in the mortgage sector team at the Financial Conduct Authority. She was the policy lead on responsible lending for the Mortgage Market Review, and will bring over 20 years mortgage industry experience to give insight into the FCA’s views on the market. In addition she will provide a broader update on compliance and regulation in bridging and short term credit.
Peter Andrews will be giving an off the record briefing on the broad economic and financial outlook from the Bank of England. He became Agent for Greater London in 2007 and has been at the Bank since 1979 in various roles.
Last year’s conference was sold out in advance, attended by more than 160 people, with this year’s expected to exceed that number. The full line up of speakers for the fifth annual event will be released in the coming weeks.
Benson Hersch, chief executive of the ASTL said: “The decision to leave the EU has been one of the biggest political events in our recent history, but it is still not clear what the impact will be. This is as true for the credit, property and bridging sectors as it is for any other parts of the economy. With Article 50 now activated, and the countdown to Brexit underway, it is now more crucial than ever that we as an industry are proactive and engage with the potential challenges we may face.
“We have seen the demand for long and short term loans rise steadily over recent months, but any major economic changes need to be properly assessed in order to secure continued success for the future.
“This conference brings together leading decision makers and commentators to address the situation presented by Brexit, as well as to provide insight into the current state of the economy, the housing market, and the future for lending and finance.”